2-370-324 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

Bronze sculpture of San Pedro (Saint Michael) de Alcantara, the Church of St Mary (Procathedral of Santa Maria la Mayor). Caceres, Spain, 2007. Completed in the 16th century over an earlier building from the 13th century, this elegant Late Gothic church is now the city cathedral. There are three Gothic entrances, the one in the Gospel section is the oldest and dates from the Romanesque period. The principal entrance opens onto the Plaza de Santa Maria. It is of late Gothic style, with fine archivolts (edge mouldings), an opening divided by a small column and a plain tympanum (panel above the opening). The tower was built in the mid-16th century by the stoneworker Pedro de Marquina. Its has elements from the transitional stage between the Gothic and Renaissance and it is crowned with flambeaux. Simple and almost unadorned it has an upper part with openings with round arches for the bells. In the central part it has a medallion with a vase of Madonna lilies, the symbol of the Virgin. The vaults are ribbed. Inside the temple there are diverse Gothic sculptures. The Plateresque door of the sacristy was the work of Alonso de Torralba (1527). At the corner of the church, the sculpture of San Pedro (Saint Michael) de Alcantara, by Enrique Perez, Comendador of Extremadura, is reputed to bring luck when one touches his toes, which is why they are shiny.